Late-drop policies frustrate UCLA students
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 7, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Late-drop policies frustrate UCLA students
School guidelines force many to make tough decisions
By Toni Dimayuga
Daily Bruin Contributor
During the first two weeks of the quarter, many students try out
classes like they try on clothes in a department store.
By the end of second week, most students are usually satisfied
with their choice of classes. But when reality intrudes, many end
up finding themselves late-dropping classes faster than you can say
"midterms."
At UCLA, students who want to drop a class after fourth week
must obtain a late-drop form, get the instructor to sign it, then
submit the form to the registrar’s office. Students are charged a
$13 fee for each class they drop after fourth week, and a notation
– including the week the class was dropped – appears on the
student’s transcript.
Some students expressed frustration with UCLA’s policy. Rodney
Lee, a third-year history and political science student, said the
late drop charge and subsequent transcript notation are unfair.
"It sucks that you have to pay. If you’re paying your tuition,
you should have the freedom to drop the class … it’s kind of
unfair because they don’t know the circumstances of the late drop,"
Lee said.
Other students expressed the fear that having late drops on
their transcript may hurt their chances of admission to graduate
school. Some would rather stick it out in rather than incurring a
transcript notation.
Not to worry, said Jeffery Seeger, associate registrar at Loyola
Marymount University. As long as a student’s transcript isn’t
peppered with late-drop notations, his or her chances at getting
into graduate school are still just as good.
Thaddeus Massey, a fourth-year history and business
administration student, said he has dropped classes late on more
than one occasion.
"I would get sick or a family situation (would intrude)," Massey
said.
Some students, such as first-year biochemistry student Emily
Liu, and Chia-Hui Wen, a first-year undeclared student, said they
would drop classes late if they were doing poorly.
Kelly Crockett, a first-year math student, said she would only
drop a class very late in the quarter if she were in a dire
situation.
"I would probably not do a late drop once I’m already that far,
(but) if I failed the midterm, I guess I would," Crockett said.
Policies on dropping classes late vary from school to school. At
Harvard University, for example, students are allowed to add or
drop a class until the fifth week of the semester, said Thurston
Smith, associate registrar at Harvard. He explained that classes
cannot be added or dropped after that date.
At Loyola Marymount University, students can add or drop classes
with no time limits, but a notation appears on the transcript,
Seeger said.Comments to [email protected]
